Set shifting reaction-time improves following meditation or simple breathcounting in meditators and meditation-naïve participants: Data from naturalistic, ecological momentary-assessment devices.
Rachel M Atchley, Daniel Klee, Barry Oken
Mindfulness & compassion July 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.mincom.2017.06.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study using ecological momentary assessment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Naive, novice, and experienced meditators, plus controls |
| Duration | Five-day period; 20-minute breath-counting sessions |
| Measures | letter-number task-switching reaction time test |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Reaction time Naturalistic data |
| Key findings | Reaction times decreased across the five testing days and were consistently faster after 20-minute breath-counting sessions than before them. The authors suggest the pre-to-post decrease reflects a meditation effect separate from the across-day learning effect. |
Abstract
A comparison is made between the performance of meditators and controls in a letter-number task-switching test. Data were recorded over a five-day period using a previously developed ecological momentary assessment paradigm. Participants consisted of naïve, novice, and experienced meditators, who completed a task-switching reaction time (RT) task before and after 20-min breath-counting sessions. There was a decrease in reaction time over testing days, p < .007, as well as a separate decrease in reaction time pre- to post-meditation, p < .001. RTs decreased each day, as expected, and post-meditation/breath-counting RTs were consistently faster than pre-meditation/breath-counting RTs. These results suggest a meditation effect separate from a learning effect.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- One Method for Objective Adherence Measurement in Mind–Body Medicine The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine January 31, 2011
- Event-related potential correlates of mindfulness meditation competence. Neuroscience April 21, 2016
- Mindfulness (Vipassana) meditation: effects on P3b event-related potential and heart rate variability. International Journal of Psychophysiology November 1, 2013
- Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clinical Psychology Review December 1, 2010
and 3 more in the library